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jueves, 19 de mayo de 2016

Confusion over debris found in the Mediterranean Sea as lead investigator says it is NOT wreckage from the EgyptAir flight

Brit Richard Osman (right) is believed to have been on the Airbus A320 which crashed on the way from Paris to Cairo in what experts believe was a terror attack. Relatives of those on board the aircraft have started gathering at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airportTHE Brit on board an EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean in an “almost certain” terror attack was "deliriously happy" after the birth of his second daughter - just three weeks before his tragic death.

Richard Osman, 40, pictured here for the first time, is believed to have been among 66 people killed in the horrifying crash as it emerges debris has been found during the search for Flight MS804.

The geologist, originally from Tanerdy, Carmarthenshire, had recently welcomed his second daughter Olympe into the world before getting on board the doomed Airbus A320.

This evening the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the wreckage was discovered near Karpathos Island.

But soon afterwards, Greece's lead air accident investigator said it is NOT from the missing plane.

It follows devastating reports that bodies were seen floating in the sea.

The statement said: "EgyptAir sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers onboard Flight MS804.

"Family members of passengers and crew have been already informed and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected.

"Meanwhile, the Egyptian investigation team, in cooperation with the GReek counterpart are still searching for other remains of the missing plane."

The confusion over the debris found in the Mediterranean Sea has prolonged the agonizing wait for all the passengers' friends and family.

Relatives of those on board EgyptAir flight MS804 are waiting for news at airports in Cairo and Paris where crisis centres have been set up

Barcroft Media

Family members were taken by bus to gathering points at the airports where they desperately wait for news

Reuters

Distraught loved ones have been told conflicting news that debris found in the sea was that of the missing plane

Reuters

Egyptian and Greek officials said the jet fell off the radar at 12.30am GMT after making "sudden swerves" and spinning 360 degrees as it plunged 22,000ft into the southern Mediterranean 230 miles from the Greek island of Crete.

Earlier today Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said the plane, which was en route from Paris to Cairo, was more likely to have been brought down by a "terror attack" than a technical fault.

Father-of-one Osman, who now lives in Paris with wife Aurerlie and his 14-month-old daughter Victios, was believed to have been on his way to start a job with a gold mining firm in the Middle-Eastern country.

His devastated brother Alastair Osman, 36, said: "It's so tragic. I can't believe it. Of all the family I would've thought Richard would have been the last to go.

"He was incredibly fit and a workaholic and since leaving university he has never stopped."

Neighbours described the doctor's son as a "lovely, lovely" man.

Earlier Egyptian Tarek Wahba, who claims on his Facebook to work for shipping company Maersk, posted a series of shots appearing to show the search effort including pictures of debris.

The photo included aircraft undertaking a search of the south-east Mediterranean along with life jackets floating in the sea.

He accompanied it with a caption in Arabic that translates as: "Been finding life jacket and debris from the chair to the plane."

Arabic broadcaster Al Arabiya said two bodies were seen floating near the search area.

Aviation and security experts soon claimed the crash was "almost certainly" the result of a terror attack, adding that the lack of a distress call suggests the crash could have been caused by an explosive device as those on board would have had no time to react.

Flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board disappeared from radarEgyptian aviation authorities said they are investigating reports from Greek sailors of a "flame in the sky" in the area where the plane vanished from radars.

Jean-Paul Troadec, the former chief of the BEA national investigation unit, said a suicide bomber could have been behind the crash.

He warned: "There’s a strong possibility of an explosion on board from a bomb or a suicide bomber."

A man and a woman, identified by airport staff as relatives of the flight's passengers, sat at an information desk near the EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris

AP

The woman was sobbing, holding her face in a handkerchief. The two were led away by police and airport staff and did not speak to journalists

AP

Troadec added: "The idea of a technical accident when weather conditions were good, seems almost possible but not that likely.

"We could also consider a missile, which is what happened to the Malaysia Airlines aircraft in July 2014."

Greece's defence minister Panos Kammenos said flight data showed the aircraft had swerved "90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right" before it disappeared from radar.

The flight's pilot was described as being "in good spirits" by Egyptian air traffic control just moments before the aircraft disappeared.

British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond expressed his "concern" and confirmed one Briton was on board.

'All thoughts are with the friends and family': Foreign Secretary says too early to speculate on MS804

He tweeted: "Deeply concerned by missing #EgyptAir. Can confirm British passport holder was on board & FCO is supporting the missing passenger’s family."

The flight was 16km in Egyptian airspace when it disappearedFrench president Francois Hollande confirmed MS804 had "crashed" off the Greek island of Karpatho after it was announced 15 French citizens were on the plane.

In a television address he said: "We must ensure that we know everything on the causes of what happened. No hypothesis is ruled out or favoured."

France has extended its state of emergency - in place since November's Paris terror attacks - until the end of July.

EGYPTAIR flight MS804: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:

* Airbus A320 departed Paris' Charles De Gaulle Airport at 11:09pm local time (10:09pm BST) and was due to land in Cairo at 3am local time (2am BST).

* On board were 56 passengers: one Brit, 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Belgian, one Canadian and one Algerian.

* Two babies and one child were among the passengers.

* There were also seven crew members and three security officials on the flight.

* Plane entered Greek airspace at 2.24am Greek time (12:24am BST) but the pilot failed to respond to attempts to contact him at 3.27am Greek time (01:27am BST).

* Greek Defence Ministy said data shows the plane dropped thousands of feet and made two violent swerves before vanishing from radar. Merchant seamen claimed to have seen flames tearing through the sky.

* Wreckage and bodies

* No potential cause of the crash is yet being ruled out, with the Paris prosecutor's office opening a formal investigation.

Addressing the nation French president Francois Hollande said no explanation for the crash "was being ruled out"

Reuters

Thirty of the flight's passengers were Egyptian.

There was confusion over whether the flight sent a distress call, with EgyptAir claiming one was sent nearly TWO HOURS after the flight first vanished from radar, but the Egyptian army denying ever receiving one.

Jean-Paul Troadec, the former chief of France’s air accident investigation unit, the BEA, said the disappearance was "almost certainly" caused by "an attack".

He said the lack of live emergency alert suggested a "brutal event".

Troadec told Europe 1 radio station in Paris: "A technical problem, a fire or a failed motor do not cause an instant accident, and the team has time to react.

"The team said nothing, they did not react, so it was very probably a brutal event and we can certainly think about an attack."

The crash comes just months after a Russian airliner was bombed by ISIS as it flew over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and weeks after an EgyptAir plane was hijacked and taken to Cyprus by a man wearing a fake suicide belt.

Unidentified relatives began to arrive at the French airport following news of the crash on Thursday

The Airbus A320 was flying from Paris to Cairo when it fell off the radar

Reuters

The flight was supposed to touch down at 3.05am local time

EPA

The flight, which was at 37,000 feet and travelling at 519mph when it vanished, was supposed to touch down at 3.05am local time after leaving Charles De Gaulle Airport at 11.09pm local time last night.

A captain on board a merchant ship in the area reported seeing a "flame in the sky" around the time the plane disappeared.

Search teams were not dispatched until 04.26 am local time, when Egyptian authorities received a distressed call - nearly two hours after the flight lost contact with air traffic control.

It was 20 minutes from landing and roughly ten miles into Egyptian airspace when it disappeared.

The director of Greece's Civil Aviation Authority says air traffic controllers were in contact with the pilot of the EgyptAir flight as it passed through Greek airspace.

The director, Constantine Lyzerakos, said the plane did not report any problem.

Lyzerakos told private Antenna television that controllers tried to make contact with the pilot 10 miles before the flight exited the Greek Flight Information Range (FIR), but the pilot did not respond.

He added that controllers continued trying to contact the pilot until 3:39 a.m. Greek time (1239 GMT) when the plane disappeared from the radar.

The plane was in Cairo's flight information range when it vanished.

Relatives heard French president Francois Hollande confirm the plane had crashed in a television address to the nation

AP

There are 56 passengers, including two babies and a child, 10 crew on board

EPA

It is carrying 56 passengers, including two babies and a child, and 10 crew

AP

30 Egyptians, 15 French, one Brit, one Belgian, one Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Portuguese and one Algerian are on board

Twitter

Egyptair's Twitter account has been updating followers with information

Egypt's foreign ministry exchanged condolences with France over what it called the "fall" of an EgyptAir flight carrying 66 people from Paris to Cairo.

The statement was the first official admission that those on board were likely to have died.

There are 56 passengers, including two babies and a child, 10 crew on board.

The nationalities on board are 30 Egyptians, 15 French, one Brit, one Belgian, one Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Portuguese and one Algerian.

Mohammed Shokeir, the plane's pilot, had flown 6,275 hours - including 2,101 hours on the same model plane - while the co-pilot had done 2,766 hours.

Airbus confirmed the jet was delivered to the Egyptian airline in 2003 and had clocked 48,000 flying hours.

Confirming the jet's serial number as 2088, the plane producer said its "concerns go out to all those affected".

Relatives of passengers on a vanished EgyptAir flight have started arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris, where their loved ones boarded the aircraft.

A man and a woman, identified by airport staff as relatives of the flight's passengers, sat at an information desk near the EgyptAir counter Thursday at the airport's Terminal 1. The woman was sobbing, holding her face in a handkerchief.

The two were led away by police and airport staff and did not speak to journalists.

The French government is setting up a crisis center for relatives at the airport.

Greek authorities have joined special teams from the Egyptian armed forces in the search for the jet

AP

The plane is feared to have crashed in the sea after disappearing

AP

It comes weeks after an EgyptAir flight was hijacked and flown to Cyprus

EgyptAir's Facebook page appeared to pay tribute to the missing flight

A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office said: "Following reports that EgyptAir flight MS804 has gone missing en route from Paris to Cairo, we are in urgent contact with the authorities in Paris and Cairo to obtain further information."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault says the government is in constant contact with Egyptian authorities since the plane's disappearance early on Thursday.

He said: "We are at the disposition of the Egyptian authorities with our military capacities, with our planes, our boats to help in the search for this plane."

He spoke after French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace.

Ayrault confirmed 15 French people were on the flight, adding: "We imagine the anguish of the families."

He confirmed French authorities are in direct contact with French and Greek officials.